


Sleepless Nights

by lumiereandcogsworth



Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: Bad Dreams, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Night Terrors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-25 22:21:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20731631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumiereandcogsworth/pseuds/lumiereandcogsworth
Summary: “Was I dreaming again?” Adam asked dreadfully. He felt like such a burden on Belle, waking her every night for his ridiculous night terrors, as if a grown man should be having night terrors. He wondered how much longer she’d endure his behavior before she’d leave him.





	Sleepless Nights

The night had been quiet, save for Adam’s restlessness. Belle was asleep on his arm, a hand on his chest. Adam had been peaceful most of the night, but the early morning hour had brought with it a terror that would seep into the prince’s dreams, more vivid each night, it seemed. The prince began shaking his head, muttering “no, no!” and kicking his legs under the covers. Belle didn’t wake right away, having been swept up in her own dreams, though far less intense than her husband’s. She dreamed of sweet summer explorations and daring adventures on the high seas. Her dreams were exciting; enjoyable, even. They were an amalgamation of various adventure novels she’d read, and she was the heroine every time. Adam wished he wasn’t the center of something, for once. His dreams, or rather, nightmares, always had him trapped; be it his own castle tower, distorted into a labyrinth, or far worse, inside the body of the beast he once was. He feared every day that this was all a dream; Belle, love, being saved… How could he truly have been rescued from that cursed way of life? He’d give anything to feel like he deserved it, to feel like he was more than worthless. His nightmares consumed him, caused his entire body to panic. He laid there, shaking, breathing hard, and wanting to wake up; but he simply couldn’t do it on his own. 

“Adam? Adam!” Belle had finally awoken from her husband’s activity. She had a hand on his shoulder, shaking him and calling his name until he finally woke up, even more panicked than when he’d been asleep. 

“Belle!” He called as he opened his eyes. He always called for her when he finally escaped his nightmares. He was always searching for her in his dreams, he could never seem to find her in time. “Belle?” Adam squinted in the darkness, seeing his wife’s silhouetted face in front of his own. 

“It’s me, you’re alright,” Belle whispered soothingly. She took his closest hand and held it in both of hers, kissing it. 

“Was I dreaming again?” Adam asked dreadfully. He felt like such a burden on Belle, waking her every night for his ridiculous night terrors, as if a grown man should be having night terrors. He wondered how much longer she’d endure his behavior before she’d leave him. 

“I think so,” she said gently, holding his hand so tightly and never wanting to let go. He’d never tell her what his dreams were about, but she didn’t have to ask to know. Adam used the free hand that’d been resting over his head to rub his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose in tired frustration with himself. 

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, eyes still shut. 

“Don’t apologize, Adam. You’ve not asked this upon yourself,” Belle replied. Adam let go of her hands and placed his hand back around her, running his fingers through her hair. It was somehow always softer when he was most stressed. 

“What did I do to deserve your goodness?” Adam questioned in the deepest sincerity. He couldn’t understand her love for him, couldn’t fathom someone caring so deeply for his tragic self. Belle leaned down and kissed him, a kiss that spoke more than her words, filled with pure feelings and deepest love. 

“Well, you are rather clever,” Belle said, pulling back with a small grin on her face, “and you’re funny, sometimes.” They shared a chuckle, both thinking ever so fondly of the other. “But most of all,” she said, leaning closer to him again, “it’s your good heart,” she whispered, inches from his face. Her hand was tracing it slowly, making imaginary lines from his eyebrows to his cheeks. 

“My heart is only good because you changed it, my love,” Adam said with such truth and confidence. He knew he would have been truly trapped for the rest of his days had Belle not been there. He knew his nightmares were only an alternate reality where his dearest love did not rescue him from himself. Belle could only smile with sad eyes. How was she ever to convince him that he was worthy of love? Worthy of affection and attention? Worthy of being worried about and being cried for? She looked into his blue eyes, just barely sparkling from the early morning moonlight. She saw such a sadness in his eyes that she feared she’d never be able to make him see what she saw: a man with a changed heart, having learned from his mistakes and trying desperately to be the man she knew he was meant to be. 

She leaned down to kiss him again, this time with a deeper passion, a deeper love for him than before. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and feeling damned for all time if he ever lost her. She was his entire world, and despite everything that his dark mind was telling him, she loved him. Belle pulled away, sliding down to rest her head on his chest, an arm around his torso. Adam kissed her head, keeping his arms wrapped around her, gently caressing her shoulder with his thumb. 

“I’ll try not to wake you again,” he whispered into her hair, his words lined with worry and apologetic truth. 

“It’s alright if you do,” she whispered back, meaning every word of it and drifting into sleep. She’d wake up a thousand times a night for him if it meant breaking him out of the darkness his mind painted in his slumber. No one should have to suffer like that alone, least of all the man she loved more than anyone. 

Adam kisses her head again, a tear falling from his eye. He silently blinked it away, letting it stream down the side of his face and stain his pillow. He still didn’t understand how she could be so kind-hearted, and how she could love him so much and so honestly. But this night, Adam decided to stop questioning it. She was there in his arms, breathing deeply with her good heart beating against him. Adam closed his eyes, grateful for her, and more in love than he ever knew to be possible. He’d sleep soundly for the rest of the night, holding his love close and never wishing to let her go. 


End file.
